The US leader follows a policy, which strangles N. Korea “through sanctions and economic measures in the hope that it’ll collapse at some point,” a member of think tank for the advisory board at the Korea Policy Institute, Gregory Elich, told RT.

Elich believes the United States is interested in the
collapse of the North, as the US “can establish their military
bases right on the border with China, meaning an encirclement of
that nation.” He also added that America never “never tolerated a
country that won’t put its economy at the service of foreign
corporations.”

RT:Neither side seems to benefit economically
from Pyongyang's latest decision not to allow South Koreans to work
in the joint industrial zone. Why is the North taking such a
decisive step?

Gregory Elich: Basically there is a whole history
leading up to this current impasse that they’ve reached and for
instance under military consultative meeting that South Korea and
the United Stated held back in October , they developed a new
military plan for North Korea. So, even in a minor conflict, that
both the US and South Korea would hit North Korea with considerable
force. According to the South Korean Ministry of National Defense
that policy would play in both peace time and war time. Under the
missile technology control regime, the US allows South Korea an
exemption on ballistic missile range, so they can now build a
ballistic missiles that would hit the entire territory of North
Korea. North Korea is under sanctions. Basically, North Korea has
few options to resist…

RT:I am sorry. You are talking about
international law here. Is North Korea playing with fire by
restarting its Yongbyon nuclear facility or is it a vital move for
the country at this point?

GE: No. As far as starting the Yongbyon nuclear
facility is a symbolic move on North Korea’s part. It really makes
little difference as far as a nuclear weapons program. It takes
many months to restart the facility and at best it can produce
enough plutonium for only one bomb per year. I think the rhetoric
coming out of North Korea and the restarting of the Yongbyon
nuclear facility are symbolic on North Korea’s part and it’s
basically sending the message to the United States. Look, if you
are heading for more sanctions, including sanctions on North
Korea’s Foreign Trade Bank, which is a primary institution for
international trade, and you have always threatening military moves
you’re making toward us, if you think you are going to crush us,
we’re going to hit you back harder than you expect. I think this is
basically what the message North Korea is sending.

RT:Whose fault is it here do you think? Or,
perhaps, Pyongyang and Washington are both just at fault
here?

GE: Well anyone who knows anything about North
Korea knows, that if you approach diplomatically, they will
negotiate, but if threat they’re threatened or bullied, they’ll
respond with firmness. So, we kind of have a feedback loop, where
the Obama administration come in and cut off all negotiations over
North Korea. There was nothing in the last few years. Obama’s
following a policy of what it calls strategic patience, which is in
effect a slow strangulation of North Korea through sanctions and
economic measures in the hope that it’ll collapse at some point of
time…

RT:If there’s a hope on America’s part, that
Pyongyang will collapse at some point in time, then what is that
hope about? Is it about America having an opportunity for another
geo-strategic positioning? I mean isn’t the US presence in South
Korea and other parts of the Far East big enough?

GE: It’s never big enough. The United States has
over a hundred bases throughout the world. If North Korea
collapses, the US can establish their military bases right on the
border with China. Meaning, an encirclement of that nation. Also
there are considerable mineral deposits in North Korea, which would
be useful for exploitation by US corporations. And the United
States has never tolerated a country that won’t put its economy at
the service of foreign corporations…